I have a bit of a soft spot for Seattle because I lived there for a summer, right before my senior year in college. I had just turned 21 and it was my first time living alone, in a city, with no known friends or acquaintances. I remember trying hard to acquire an appreciation for wine (I ordered it just because I finally could, though I hated the taste at first), and also learning to buy groceries and cook for myself (beyond the instant noodles I’d previously prepared in the dorms, of course). It was a lot of time for self-reflection and growth – and also, I just couldn’t get over how much Seattle reminded me of San Francisco. The appearances and behavior of each city’s inhabitants, the mostly gloomy weather, the local foodie and tech culture – the similarities are just uncanny.

I haven’t had many opportunities to return since then, but my boyfriend’s friend’s wedding was a good excuse to go up for a weekend. We had limited time to explore (there were so many more coffee shops, restaurants and bars I wanted to see) but we made the best of it:

1) Camano Island – Just an hour-and-a-half outside Seattle, surrounded by dense forests and water on all sides. Our friend had a vacation home that dropped right to the lake’s edge, with kayaks and boats we could take out crabbing (my first and only time ever doing so – and it was quite fun, actually). Also, my lungs rejoiced over sucking in that fresh Pacific Northwestern air.

2) Daily Dozen Doughnut Co. – Because everyone should try a maple-glazed donut hole with bacon bits at one point in their life.

3) Rachel’s Ginger Beer – Ginger beer deserves to be elevated – and Rachel does a damn good job. Blood orange flavored ginger beer, by the way, is revelatory.

4) Toulouse Petit – Seattle’s Brenda’s Soul Food, basically, except with more ostentatious décor. Food was deliciously heavy, especially the biscuits and home fries, but service left a bit to be desired.

5) The Walrus and the Carpenter – Hands down my favorite place in Seattle. Not only is this tapas restaurant located in Ballard (Seattle’s hipster neighborhood, so of course I adore it), but the steak tartare, fried oysters and pickled veggies will send your taste buds soaring to new culinary heights. Also, the gorgeous decor manages to be post-industrial yet fantastical at the same time (antler chandeliers, I'm looking at you).

6) Percy & Co – Cute-ish bar also in Ballard, with a great enclosed outdoor seating area (a feature that seems to be very common in rainy Seattle and that I wish I saw more of in San Francisco, which is starved for terraces in general). The cocktails are phenomenal and made with locally sourced ingredients – and I mean local, as in some of the herbs are grown on their rooftop garden.

7) The Sexton – The bad-ass all-female staff and adorable rustic decor may have drawn me in, but the cheeky cocktail names and cassette countertops are what make the Sexton memorable.